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2018 UFL Season
The 2018 UnitardZ Football League season, '''the fifth season in the history of the UnitardZ Football League began on July 18, 2018 with the defending Spalding Ball champion Connecticut Stampede defeating the Arizona Copperheads 16-6 on Wednesday Night Football. The season concluded on November 3, 2018; with the Pacific Conference Champion Tampa Silverstars, which were introduced into the league the previous year, defeating the Atlantic Conference Champion Atlanta Bravehearts 23-20 in overtime in Spalding Ball V. This victory would give the Silverstars their first Pacific Conference championship, as well as their first Spalding Ball championship victory in franchise history. This would be the fifth and final season in which the league would be known as the "UnitardZ Football League", as the league would be renamed to the "United Football League" before the 2019 UFL season. Player Movements Supplemental Draft Due to player movements being halted following the 2017 UFL season, members involved in the 2017 UFL Draft were given the option of going into the official 2018 UFL Draft, or going into a supplemental version of the 2017 UFL Draft, allowing teams to forfeit a first round and second round draft pick in the 2018 UFL Draft to select a single player out of the available draft pool. Notable draftee's that selected to join the 2018 UFL Draft included Tito Nieves, Zyair Rountree, Justin Bebarski, amongst others. The same players that elected to wait a year and declare for the official 2018 UFL Draft were allowed to play one more year of college football. However; other players including UCAA MVP for three years in a row, Halfback Mark August, amongst others, elected to take part in the 2017 UFL Supplemental Draft. Mark August was taken by the Los Angeles Bolts with the first pick in the supplemental draft, while the following players were taken at further points in the supplemental draft: Kingston Zenick was selected by the Arizona Copperheads, Corey Fappiano was selected by the Texas Watchmen, Deandre Wallace was selected by the Seattle Avengers, and Jacob Serra was selected by the Kansas City Core. Free Agency Free Agency for the 2017 UFL off-season was postponed to the 2018 UFL off-season, with free agents eligible in the 2017 UFL off-season being able to partake in the 2018 UFL off-season free agency period. This would include notable players such able to leave teams the following year such as (player's team's as of the beginning of the 2018 UFL season as listed in parenthesis) Quarterback Skyler Howard (of the Cincinnati Lynx), Quarterback Zachary Serra (of the Connecticut Stampede), Feleipe Franks (of the Texas Watchmen), Quarterback John Franklin (of the Seattle Avengers), Halfback Curtis Samuel (of the Tampa Silverstars), Halfback Wayne Gallman (of the Orlando Crusaders), Cameron Scarlett (of the Atlanta Bravehearts), Halfback Jeremy McNichols (of the Detroit Stingers), Wide Receiver Shelton Gibson (of the Cincinnati Lynx), Wide Receiver Noah Brown (of the Tampa Silverstars), Wide Receiver Michael Chigbu (of the Los Angeles), Antonio Callaway (of the Texas Watchmen), Jazz Peavy (of the Connecticut Stampede), Tight End Marcus Baugh (of the Tampa Silverstars), OJ Howard (of the Kansas City Core), Tight End Greg Taboada (of the Atlanta Bravehearts), Tight End Luke Willson (of the Seattle Avengers), Tight End Jake Roh (of the Detroit Stingers), Left Tackle Anthony Castonzo (of the Vancouver Outlaws), Left Tackle Ereck Flowers (of the New York Sentinels), Left Guard Orlando Franklin (of the Los Angeles Bolts), Center Garth Gerhart (of the Orlando Crusaders), Right Guard Ali Marpet (of the Tampa Silverstars), Right Tackle Doug Free (of the Texas Watchmen), Right Tackle Jon Beck (of the Baltimore Capitals), Left End Myles Garrett (of the Connecticut Stampede), Defensive Tackle Harrison Phillips (of the Atlanta Bravehearts), Defensive Tackle Elliot Hoyte (of the Detroit Stingers), Left Outside Line Backer Olajuwon Tucker (of the Vancouver Outlaws), Right Outside Line Backer Korey Toomer (of the Vegas Demons), Cornerback Terrence Alexander (of the Atlanta Bravehearts), Free Safety JK Britt (of the Baltimore Capitals), Strong Safety Jadar Johnson (of the Orlando Crusaders), and Kicker Jim Bryant (of the Atlanta Bravehearts). Trades The following transactions were made during the 2017 UFL off-season, as no player movements were made during the 2018 UFL season. Connecticut Stampede traded Halfback Nick Chubb, and backup Quarterback Jason Eason to the Los Angeles Bolts in return for Wide Receiver Jazz Peavy and Halfback Corey Clement. Tamp Silverstars traded Defensive Tackle Myles Garrett to the Connecticut Stampede for Wide Receiver Noah Brown and Tight End Greg Taboada. Regular Season Results '''Divisional Standings Atlantic Conference Coastal Division Connecticut Stampede earned the second seed in the Atlantic Conference post-season standings, the New York Sentinels earned the fifth seed in the Atlantic Conference post-season standings. Atlantic Conference Central Division Kansas City Core earned the first seed in the Atlantic Conference post-season standings, the Atlanta Bravehearts earned the third seed in the Atlantic Conference post-season standings, and the St. Louis Eagles earned the fourth seed in the Atlantic Conference post-season standings. Pacific Conference Coastal Divison Tampa Silverstars earned the first seed in the Pacific Conference post-season standings, the Seattle Avengers earned the fourth seed in the Pacific Conference post-season standings, and the Los Angeles Bolts earned the fifth seed in the Pacific Conference post-season standings. Pacific Conference Central Division Texas Watchmen earned the second seed in the Pacific Conference post-season standings, the Cincinnati Lynx earned the third seed in the Pacific Conference post-season standings. Conference Standings Atlantic Conference Pacific Conference Post Season Results Wild Card Round The 2018 UFL Post-Season began on October 14, 2018 with the fifth-seeded Los Angeles Bolts playing the fourth-seeded Seattle Avengers in the Pacific Conference Wild Card Round. Later that day, the fifth-seeded New York Sentinels would play the fourth-seeded St. Louis Eagles in the Atlantic Conference Wild Card Round. Pacific Conference Wild Card Round Atlantic Conference Wild Card Round Divisional Round In the Atlantic Conference, the fifth-seeded New York Sentinels traveled to Kansas City to play the first-seeded Kansas City Core to kick off the divisional round. Also in the Atlantic Conference Divisional Round, the third-seeded Atlanta Bravehearts traveled to Hartford to play the second-seeded Connecticut Stampede. In the Pacific Conference, the fifth-seeded Los Angeles Bolts traveled to Tampa Bay to play the first-seeded Tampa Silverstars. In the same round, the third-seeded Cincinnati Lynx would travel to San Antonio to play the second-seeded Texas Watchmen. Conference Championship Round In the Atlantic Conference, the fifth-seeded New York Sentinels traveled to Atlantic to play the third-seeded Atlanta Bravehearts in the Atlantic Conference Championship game. In the Pacific Conference, the third-seeded Cincinnati Lynx traveled to Tampa Bay to play the first-seeded Tampa Silverstars in the Pacific Conference Championship game. Spalding Ball V In the league's championship game, the crowned Atlantic Conference champion Atlanta Bravehearts and the crowned Pacific Conference champion Tampa Silverstars played each other in the fifth-annual Spalding Ball game to determine the league's champion of 2018. Staffing Changes Within the first week after Spalding Ball V, the Seattle Avengers fired head coach Mike Ditka, who had compiled a 14-16 record as the Seattle head coach. Two weeks after Ditka's firing, Seattle hired head coach Terry Watts to take over coaching duties. After the 2018 UFL season, the league introduced multiple head coaching positions for each team to lessen the workload of the UFL Head Coaches; which included offensive and defensive coordinators, as well as official general managers. The official hirings for each team are listed below.